Pressure actuated valve



Oct. 15, 1935. A. K. SORENSEIN 2,017,297

PRESSURE ACTUATED VALVE Filed Aug. 25, 1953 (M1666? I a Patented Oct.- 15, 1935 u 1 rEo. -s ATEs 2,011,297 PRESSURE ACTUATED VALVE Alfred K. Sorensen, Chicago, 111., assignmto Crane 00., Illinois 1 Chicago, 111., a corporation of" p f Application August 25, 1933, Serial No. 686,72;

3 Claims. (01. 137- 53) This invention relates to pop safety or relief valves and more particularly tothattype of safety valve for use on high temperature liquids or gases, as for example, high temperature or superheated 6 steam.

This invention is based upon the unique ar rangement of split or snap rings loosely'placed within the piston guide of the disc or valve, closure member so as to allow for applying to the split 10 rings a hammer blow or initial thrust which allows the disc to move freely before it is decelerated by the braking or dragging action normally exerted by the rings within their cylindrical guide. The braking action of the rings, of course, is

produced by the friction exerted upon the cy1in-' der wall by reason of the ring tension itself applied thereto. f 1

Further, this invention produces a new form of disc actionheretofore considered impossible in that the disc in its responseto pressure acts independently of the opposition which might ordinarily be placed upon the disc because of the aforesaid ring tension. On account of the manner in which the disc or closure member is guided, the valve embodying the principle of this invention possesses the desirable feature of high lift because of the fact tha'tthere is only atmospheric pressure back of the disc, and-the initial movement of the latter, both in opening and closing directions, is unimpededby any drag orbraka ing action bythe split rings on valve closureguides. c

Heret'ofore it hasbeen well recognized that one of the principal problems in connectionlwith'the installation of safety valves subjected to high temperatures is the inability to obtain a valvev which will be sensitive to the actuating pressure and. at the same time embodya structure capable of being manufactured with suflicient practical 40 precision to be operative without binding or introducing excessive friction in the movement of V the disc proper.

One of the objects therefore, of this invention is to provide a valve which is extremely sensitive under conditions of high'temperature and yet possesses substantially large clearances to avoid binding because of expansion attributableto' high cases to such an extent thatthesteam, emitted around the spring had suflicient force to reach a ceiling, twenty feet above the valveproper.

Under identical conditions of linepressure and temperatures. similar valve waslin'stalled, but 5 employed the construction [of my. invention and, later described herein. ThB all1Qlll1l; ofsteam emitted around the spring could be compared to. the smoke from a cigar. j

In chambers of .relat example, the fire-roomj, aboard a .shipgit. is very important to reduce escape of steam into the room, to a minimum, and recognizing' thedesirablefea I tures ,of this applicant's invention, the U 5.

Navy hasv approved of valves embodying ,these' .16

features for use aboard its ships andsimilarsuite.v able installations. .I f Additional advantages of this constructionwilh be apparent, upon 'reading the descriptionof a typical application of this I invention to a valve 20 asdisclosed'in the following: Fig. 1 shows .a sectional assemblyview of one application of my invention,

Fig. 2 shows, an enlarged viewfdirecte'dtoa1 specific construction embodying mylinventio'n. .7 [,25

' Referring to Fig. 1, thevalve body'or casing l I is fitted with a body seatringl" "hich'jis pro-[ vided'with wing guides 3. ,A disc o closuramemberld seatsupon the seat ring 2, forming thef seat joint 5. The disc 4 isiinterlockably connected tojgso,

the valve stem 6, by means of the disc. nutll and the" encircling lockingfwire' 8,f.whicli, fastens to the stem by means'of thejgrbove'iltherebnf Abutting the shoulder l I" of thest'emjB, 1S

spring washer i {which supports a. coiled spri'n'gfiio 5 l3, which is held in compressed-relation against the spring washer |2fby mjean'sof anupp'er spring; washer I 4. Adjustment of. tlie'sbifingjfd fivarious operating conditions is provided, by means, of a threaded adjusting "screw l s aring; agains'tf the :40,

upper'jside of the spring washer-(it; In order to prevent tampering with, the adjus ing screw 15,," a. locking cap l6 rendered so by of a" pad I lock andhasp not shown; [but ,fitting' ,th'e open-5Q ing 11, eeps the cap is infpo'sition. Thefstenias is maintained in lockedfrelationjwithinithe capl' ZItherefOrIj T M a In theevent that an emergency arises in which" it becomes necessary to operate the valve by hand or mechanically, alever 22 pivotally connected by the bearing 23 of the yoke 24 may be used for this purpose by raising the lever 22 and causing the cam surface II) to engage against the underside of the horizontally disposed lever 25, which ively 1mi as; as l at 1ov ispiv oted also to the yoke at the bearing 26 ing joint as shown in order to serve as a renewable guide for the disc or closure member, the detailed operation of which will be hereinafter described. The bushing 33 is' preferably locked in position by means of the conventional machine screw 34. In order to regulate the seating conditions of the disc upon a seat ring 2, relative to the operating pressure condition an adjusting ring 35 is threadedly connected to the upper end of the seat ring 2 as shown and held in locked position by means of the machine screw 36 and the locknut 31. The ring 35 is simply the conventional means used to regulate the amount of blowback during the actuation of the valve closure member by pressure.

Directing attention more particularly to the construction shown in Fig. 2, which represents an enlargement of the disc guide means incorporating the salient feature of my invention, there is shown for example, two split type piston rings 38 and 39 respectively, annularly positioned in preferably superposed relation on the guide or piston portion of the disc 4. These rings fit relatively loosely within the grooves 4| and 42 respectively. Between the aforesaid piston portion and the bore 40 a clearance 41 is provided to insure positive free movement without binding and making substantial allowances for whatever expansion occurs because of variations in operating temperatures.

As to a typical method of operation of this device, let it be assumed for example, that line pressure is below the disc 4, which is the normal condition of installation of the valve since, as previously mentioned, the disc is held down against its seat by the spring l3. when the pressure underneath the disc is sufllciently great to overcome the action of the spring l3, the disc will be forced from its seat as at 5 and the valve will exhaust to relieve the pressure condition. However, because of the clearances shown at 43 and 44 respectively, the disc instead of being even slightly. re-

tarded in its action by reason of the friction exerted by the split rings or piston rings 38 and 39 against the wall 40 of the guide 33, the disc rises from its seat freely except for the spring action and the weight of the disc itself. Thus the inertia of the disc is immediately overcome by the line pressure without an initial braking action of the split rings which might otherwise normally be exerted in opposition to the disc action. Further, there will be an impact occurring between the clearances respectively, represented at 43 and 44, so that the lower faces 45 and 46 contact with the underside of the split rings 38 and 39, and thus exert a hammer blow action which is sufllcient to cause an immediate upward movement of the rings within the upper and lower grooves 43 and 44 respectively. In the closing movement of the disc, the piston rings will lag and follow the. disc to its seat, bearing against the upper surface of the grooves 43 and 44 respectively, as shown in 5 Fig. 2.

It is thus apparent that while it is possible to maintain relatively large clearances as shown at 41, a substantially pressure tight contact within 7 the piston rings and the internal guide is mainl0 tained by means of this particular piston ring setting. Further, I am enabled to obtain a freely moving and an extraordinarily sensitive safety .valve so far as response to line pressure is con cerned. 15

It is evident that this invention may embody many forms and I, therefore, desire to be limited to the scope of the appended claims.

I claim:-

1. In a pressure actuated valve, comprising a 0 casing, a reciprocably movable closure member therefor guided within a cylindrical bore within said casing, transverse grooves circumferentially disposed upon said closure member, snap rings positioned within said grooves, the said rings ex- 25 erting substantially uniform radial outward pressure on the circumferentially curved surface of said bore. the inner diameter of said rings being greater than the inner diameter of the said grooves, the width of said rings being substan- 30 tially less than the width of the grooves in which they are disposed, whereby the valve closure member is initially movable in its opening movement without the frictional resistance of the said snap rings. 85

2. In a pressure actuated valve, comprising a casing, a reciprocably movable closure member therefor loosely guided within a cylindrical bore within said casing, transverse grooves circumferentially disposed upon said closure member, snap rings positioned within said grooves exerting substantially uniform radial outward pressure on the circumferentially curved surface of said bore, the inner diameter of said rings being greater than the inner diameter of the said grooves, the width 45 of said rings being substantially less than the width of the grooves in which they are disposed, whereby said dimensional difierences between the grooves and the said rings permit an initial impact upon said snap rings when the said closure 50 member is actuated by line pressure.

3. In a pressure actuated valve, comprising a casing, a guide within said casing, a closure member therefor movable within said guide and having transverse grooves circumferentially disposed thereon, snap rings positioned within said grooves, the said rings exerting substantially uniform radial outward pressure on the circumferentially curved surface of said bore, the inner diameter of said rings being greater than the inner diameter of the said grooves, the width of said rings being substantially less than the width of the grooves in which they are disposed, whereby the said closure member in leaving its seat within said casing and subsequent returning thereto is momentarily free of the frictional resistance normally extant between said rings and said bore.

ALFRED K. SORENSEN. 

